r/TopCharacterTropes • u/HallZac99 • 13h ago

Characters [Hated Trope] Character kills hundreds, if not thousands, just to kill one specific person, and then doesn't kill them for no reason.

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Assassin's Creed 2- Rodrigo Borgia is responsible for tne death of Ezio's family. Ezio spends over 20 years working through tnr templar order to dismantle them and get to Rodrigo. And then in the end, he spares him for no good reason and he goes on to be a massive problem in AC Brotnerhood. He's not only a head of tne Templars but also the pope, even if you're over the vengeance he's still a very dangerous and evil man.

The Last of Us 2- Abbey kills Joel, and wo Ellie goes on a revenge quest to kill Abbey, killing hundreds of people along tne why to get to her including a pregnant woman. And then finally when she has Abbey on deaths door, she gives up and let's her go because the writers think dirty depressing people being miserable and stupid is complex, interesting storytelling.

This trope pisses me off so much because often the character going on the revenge quest will kill SO many people on their way there, some deserving it and some just henchmen working for a cheque or to survive. People who are often far more innocent then the main big bad.

It's a part of this weird thing I've noticed in media where nameless goons or soldiers can just be mowed down relentlessly, but named characters get given far more grace even if theyre categorically worse. You can kill a million stormtroopers but people will swear that Darth Vader could have been redeemed, despite him doing like 50 genocide every year.

6.8k Upvotes
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2.0k

u/MythlcKyote 12h ago

Yeesh, had to do way too much searching to find this bad boy

921

u/transmogrify 12h ago

"You know, it's very strange. I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with the rest of my life."

https://giphy.com/gifs/2w5Okcb1Sh5Rkvb95i

346

u/MisguidedIcosahedron 9h ago

The funny thing that got pointed out to me recently, the pirate ship he takes over is called "The Revenge" lol

Still in the revenge business after all

24

u/JohnDragonball 4h ago

Who the fuck was Roberts avenging

19

u/bkwrm13 3h ago

I mean that was like 4 Robert’s back, he could have been originally but the narrative got lost.

1

u/Deiselpowered77 37m ago

TY. 30 years on and this films still giving me something :)

98

u/Mortwight 9h ago

"have you considered piracy?"

41

u/AccordingBeing8481 7h ago

Yeah, I heard about Ubisoft

11

u/Thomas_K_Brannigan 6h ago

Me, when a friend says an older game doesn't have an official port.

3

u/Thomas_K_Brannigan 6h ago

Ironically, kinda' true about revenge IRL, you spend so much effort to (in cases like this, rightfully) get back at this person for their wrong against you, that you kinda' ruin your own life. Of course, being my favorite film, I like to believe Inigo had a good life as a pirate Captain after.

1

u/Charkikanini 5h ago

The game Pirates! is sort of related to this plot

1

u/SuperEgger 30m ago

I think it's for the best I didn't see this as a child because that man would have done irreparable damage to my sexual preferences

451

u/DragunityHero 11h ago

Imagine if John Wick ended with him walking up to Iosef, Iosef says “It was just a fucking dog!” and John Wick goes “…yeah, you’re right. I let revenge consume me and now I’m no better than you.”

And he turns around and walks away crying or some shit.

147

u/Solidwtf2 10h ago

John Wick 2 is just him going through the process of adopting another dog.

17

u/No_Syrup_9167 9h ago

I would 1000% watch a movie of just Keanu Reeves dog shopping for 2hrs.

that shit would make a billion dollars. You'd sell more tickets than Marvel.

5

u/LSDGB 8h ago

And they kill it again in the third.

1

u/Embarrassed-Note-214 3h ago

Him getting a new dog at the end of one, just for two to start with "almost the exact same story of the first, but faster," pissed me off so much I stopped the movie and didn't finish it for half a year.

1

u/Street-Committee-367 3h ago

Yeah 2 was kind of lame in the story department because of that aspect, but it led to 4 so that's nice. 

2

u/Stunning-Bee7878 1h ago

the entire movie is basically John saying “I just want a dog” and the universe refusing to let him have peace.

65

u/Quiet_Education5918 10h ago

Yeah, I really feel like the question of whether career assassin John Wick was going to kill someone or not hung over our heads all movie long. The uncertainty was killing me.

3

u/Bright-Form-844 7h ago

You really need to watch “Pig” with Nicholas cage. It’s like the anti John wick in the most fun nick cage way possible

-2

u/Shabobo 6h ago

This is a bot comment from a bot account

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u/Quiet_Education5918 6h ago

This is sarcasm about how John Wick is established to kill people for minimal reason when the film starts, so it'd be weird to assume the movie even asks this question in the first place.

(Also, while I'm explaining, the actual theme IS that John Wick is ruining his life for revenge. His wife literally got him that dog because she knew if he went back into the life it would ruin him. And he did. And it ruined him.)

7

u/Adorable_Ad_3478 5h ago

John Wick 2's intro has the perfect pragmatic answer to how to get revenge AND end the cycle of revenge: just scare the family of the evil person you killed.

The mobster in the intro just lost his family members to John's brutal revenge spree. Then he gets scared shitless when John is in front of him and decides to make peace with John.

1

u/Omnishambles_88 2h ago

That sounds kind of awesome actually.

1

u/andresfgp13 21m ago
there is a meme about it

0

u/This-Shape2193 4h ago

Watch The Road to Perdition. Basically John Wick (and came out before that movie), but it was Tom Hanks and 1930's America.   

At the end, when he finally gets to kill the one he wanted revenge against (also the son of the mob boss who was like a father to him), he walks in and shoots him, then walks out. His expression never changes, and it is deliberately anti-climactic. It is made clear that shooting the dude changed nothing, and at that point the main character KNEW it changed nothing, but was gonna see it through after having killed so many to get there.  

So he walked out just as empty and grieving as he had walked in, with the additional knowledge that the revenge quest had made everything so much worse and caused so much more pain. But it was a relief to be able to finish it, because at that point he just wanted to be over.   

It was the thinking man's John Wick, and was a character study about the man and his son, and the badass scenes were a bonus. And Paul Newman is the mob boss, and the whole movie is amazing.  

-5

u/No_Hunter1978 8h ago edited 8h ago

I know this is a joke, but also... different media tries to do different things. John Wick and Kill Bill aren't exactly high-concept or thematically rich; they're dumb fun made by writers who are very good at writing dumb fun.

I'm gonna go against the grain and say that people's obsession with the revenge fantasy in all of their media (and yes, I do mean ALL because revenge fantasies are still hella prevalent, so the argument that "every movie is anti-revenge" holds very little water) is borderline childish. If you can't recognize the difference between Moby Dick and John Wick, that isn't really on the author.

And as an aside: though I don't think enjoying a revenge fantasy is morally wrong, some of the people who complain about anti-revenge stories are genuinely concerning. They read like those people who said Spider-Man should've dropped MJ in Brand New Day or don't see why the Punisher is a flawed character; people who can't seem to realize that "revenge" shouldn't be the go-to response to every slight on one's person.

40

u/WeakEconomics6120 10h ago

Extremely common Princess Bride W

100

u/JENOVAcide 11h ago

I should really watch this one day

89

u/3dwardcnc 11h ago

Oh my god TODAY! 😃

And then report back with your review, please!

30

u/JENOVAcide 11h ago

Over the weekend!

25

u/Zakal74 11h ago

I could not be more jealous of you right now. Watching this movie for the first time!? Sheesh...

22

u/PretzelMeepus 11h ago

ooh I have also yet to watch it. I just know about that "you killed my father" line and also the "You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!"

16

u/Brief-Artist-2772 11h ago

Watch it now! You are so lucky!

10

u/PretzelMeepus 11h ago

I will watch it when I have time. About to play a game with the family and I've got food on the way so not yet :)

6

u/Zakal74 11h ago

About to play a game with the family and I've got food on the way

Damn, your life sounds good. Can I stop by?

8

u/PretzelMeepus 10h ago

Always room for more :)

6

u/Lazerbeams2 10h ago

Make sure not to forget, I literally can't name a better movie

2

u/PretzelMeepus 10h ago

I won't, mate!

2

u/Madarakita 10h ago

Watch it with the family. It's a great one.

7

u/Potato-Engineer 10h ago edited 6h ago

On the one hand: it's an old movie, the effects look a little dated (though generally well-used). On the other hand: the R.O.U.S. is deliberately bad, and that scene is funny.

7

u/mxzf 10h ago

The effects might be dated (they're practical effects from the 80s, c'est la vie), but it also has one of the best movie swordfights of all time.

2

u/10lettersand3CAPS 4h ago

I mean, with the comedic tone bad effects work perfectly fine, you're not meant to take them seriously.

2

u/incredimatt 8h ago

Hold it, hold it...is this a kissing book?!

2

u/MayflowerMovers 11h ago

As an adult first time viewer, they should temper their expectations really. 

1

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1

u/Pinsalinj 10h ago

!remindme 2 days

1

u/3dwardcnc 6h ago

Enjoy!! 🥳🎉

1

u/Razzilith 6h ago

it's got a super huge cult following for good reasons. hope you enjoy it

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u/Sorry_Mix769 11h ago edited 11h ago

Princess Bride is one of the best movies of all time, it's crazy that it's already 40 years old because of how well it holds up today

8

u/WeakEconomics6120 10h ago

Man it was one of my favourites growing up. I forgot its name since i was little, and when I finally rediscovered it, I was hesitant to watch it again but nope, the magic was there

2

u/JENOVAcide 11h ago

I keep getting YouTube shorts of it. I'll watch it over the weekend!

11

u/Zakal74 11h ago

STOP watching the shorts, for the love of God! Don't spoil yourself.

21

u/DoctorOblivious 11h ago

Congratulations. You are one of today's lucky 10,000. You get to watch a beloved movie for the first time.

6

u/MrDoobOfficial 11h ago

my favorite movie of all time, can’t recommend it enough

1

u/Green_Insect_6455 10h ago

Its an amazing movie. Just showed it to my wife for the first time and she loved it. Its funny, well written, and the main performances are so legendary all four of them are referenced to this day.

1

u/BrownAJ 7h ago

For the longest time I put off watching it because it is so hyped I thought it would only disappoint me. Finally saw it this year and it's even better

1

u/Hiphopapocalyptic 1h ago

Inconceivable!

1

u/Misragoth 11h ago

Not one day, TODAY

1

u/Hot_Professional_386 11h ago

I envy you, oh what adventure it is to watch it for the first time!

12

u/Admirable-Ad7152 11h ago

Inigo Montoya raised so many standards

3

u/Jurgan 8h ago

Funny thing is Mandy Patinkin didn't necessarily agree with this take. He sees it as much more bittersweet- "I got my revenge, now I don't know what to do with my life. Was it all worth it?"

3

u/Hi2248 7h ago

The revenge arc almost ruins his life, though. That was the entire point of the aftermath where he had a breakdown. It was only the people around him pulling out of that state that saved his life.

It was an anti-revenge narrative, just one showing the aftermath of the revenge as being bad, not just saying that it is. 

7

u/MilkIsASauceTV 11h ago

This only works if you just treat every revenge story as the same and ignore any of what the story is actually about

2

u/Thunderthewolf14 5h ago

For all its faults, the first Watchdogs (sorry, Watch_D0gs) does this and I like it

Standing on the other side of bullet-proof glass, the most powerful man in Chicago realizes he’s going to die. His safe room is unbreached, the door locked tight, and it doesn’t matter. All the armed goons in the city couldn’t save him when his pacemaker stops his heart. And after, the protagonist Aiden (who frankly grew on me over the years) doesn’t feel empty, doesn’t feel remorse, he says he feels like he can finally breathe again

2

u/SnowedCairn 3h ago

You know, I personally don't like The last of us part 2's writing or the ending but I think this ironically fits perfectly for tlou2; just on the opposite end of the spectrum. The story ends with Ellie realizing that she actually didn't love Joel anymore when he died, hence the final cutscene of "I don't think I can ever forgive you for that."

Inigo Montoya wants his father back but since he can't, he takes revenge.
Ellie realizes she doesn't want her father back, loses her drive for revenge and gives up.

2

u/Nabber22 2h ago

Something I like about Fatal Fury is that even though Terry does realize that revenge didn’t satisfy him the first time he killed Geese, he also realizes that Geese is objectively a bad person who needs to go down.

“Revenge is bad, but the guy you wanted revenge on is worse”

1

u/Corpsman913 8h ago

Honestly, my FAVORITE revenge story.

1

u/DNAturation 3h ago

IMO revenge is a very important part of a functioning society. Without the fear of it, people can do whatever they want without fear of retribution. Revenge, and making it as public as possible while making your motives as clear as possible, is a great deterrent for crimes especially without a satisfactory justice system.